“Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psa. 150:2)
When I once went to visit the grieving parents of a young man who had died, I recalled the last words I had shared with him. They were, “I am proud of you” verbalized on the occasion of another relative’s passing when he had spoken quite eloquently. He seemed pleased to receive my praise. As I remembered – it also made me happy that those words were the final ones I would have spoken to him. However humble we might profess to be, we all like to be the recipients of heartfelt praise acknowledging those things we have done well. God loves it too when we express our adoration and gratitude to Him for His creation. When we praise God, it enhances our fellowship with Him by indicating that we understand and value the power of His presence over our lives. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” (Hebrews 13:15).
In her book In My Father’s House – Corrie Ten Boom told a story about an old monk who sang every Christmas Eve for all the monks in the monastery and for the visitors who would come from the village for the special services. The monk’s voice was unpolished. But the monk loved the Lord, and he sang from his heart. One year the director of the cloister said, “I’m sorry Brother, we will not need you to sing this Christmas Eve. We have a new monk who has a marvelous voice.” The new monk sang stunningly, and everyone was happy. But later that night, an angel came to the superior and said, “Why didn’t you have a Christmas Eve song?” The superior was very surprised. “We had a beautiful song that was inspirational. Didn’t you hear it?” The angel shook his head sadly. “It may have been inspiring to you, but we did not hear it in heaven. The old monk with the raspy voice had Christ in his heart and he sings from his heart. The young monk was singing for his own benefit.”
We can’t expect the entire world to celebrate their feelings about Christmas in the same way, but we can pray that somehow the true heart of Christmas might help them to understand what God has done for them. Simeon understood the significance of Jesus birth when forty days afterwards Joseph and Mary entered the temple in accordance with the Law of Moses. “At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!’ ” (Luke 2:25-32). In some Christian traditions, a remembrance of this meeting (known as Candlemas) is celebrated each February.
Simeon provides a note of hope and expectation. His praise makes a pronouncement that the baby Jesus, whom he held in his arms, was God’s promise fulfilled. It is unmistakably clear that the Wise Men also understood who He was when they shared their gifts in praise. “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him’ ” (Matthew 2:1-2). Without a doubt, the Chosen Twelve spoke of praise for who He was. Peter, one who was closest to Jesus, said: “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:11). As we celebrate Christmas with great food, presents, and parties – it is important that we move beyond the tinsel. When we get to that heart of the events surrounding Jesus birth, we find deep significance of how God chose to orchestrate His coming into our world. Then we will come to realize that the praise we give for Jesus will always be worthy and lasting.
REFLECTION: When you think about your Christmas traditions, how many of them are done for your benefit as opposed to those reserved for praising God? In what ways could you consider reprioritizing how you celebrate the birth of Jesus? How might you invite others to join you in your ‘praise revision’ ?
A NEW LOOKUP DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., DECEMBER 31, 2016. COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.